What do you see in the photo, what do you notice, when do you think this
was taken
The photo shows Walter Tull.
Who is Walter Tull?
Walter Tull was born in 1888 in Folkestone, Kent. He was mixed race; his mother was from Folkestone and had white skin and his dad was from Barbados and had black skin. After Walter’s dad died in 1897, Water and his brother had to go to an orphanage in East London.
What do you think life was like in an orphanage in 1897?
It was at the orphanage that Walter discovered a love of football. Here is a picture of Walter with the orphanage football team.
Walter became a very good footballer and he went on to play
professionally, first for Tottenham Hotspur and later for Northampton Town
where he played in 110 matches.
In 1914 professional football was suspended.
What happened in 1914 to cause football to be suspended?
World War 1 began and Walter joined the football battalion, a fighting unit with about 1000 men, where he was quickly promoted to rank of Sergeant.
Why do you think Walter was promoted, what does this suggest abut him?
In 1916, Walter returned to England to be trained as an Officer. But at this time, only a white British born person could train to be an officer.
Why do you think this rule was in place?
What does this rule suggest about how life was different in 1916 for
people with black skin?
What law was missing in 1916 that would make this rule illegal in 2026?
Walter was allowed to train to be an officer.
Why do you think Walter was allowed to train to be an officer, what does this suggest about him?
In 1917 Walter was commissioned to be an Officer. He was highly praised for his role in battle, in particular when he led soldiers over a river in Italy.
Why would leading an army of men over a river be difficult? Imagine what could go wring and what an officer had to consider at the time to be successful.
On 25 March 1918 Walter led an attack on German trenches.
What were the trenches, why were they there, who was in them?
Walter and his men had climb out the English trenches, cross No Mans Land and reach the German trenches to attack them.
Would this be exciting?
Was is No Man’s Land? Why is it called that?
What do you think happens when a soldier climbs out of his trench and
crosses No Man’s Land?
Walter Tull was shot and killed as he led his men across No Man’s Land. His body was never found.
Why do you think his body never found?
At the time, Walter’s death didn’t get any attention. Walter’s name is listed on the Arras Memorial in France alongside the names of 35,000 men who lost their lives in the War between 1916 and 1918 and have no grave.
But recently his story has been told and there has been a campaign to award him the Military Cross Medal.
Why award a medal to someone after they have died?
Today, Walter is remembered as the first black officer to lead white men in to battle. Walter wasn’t the only Black British officer to serve in the army, but he was the first to lead soldiers on the front line.
Today, a road in Northampton that leads to the football stadium is named
after Walter, and there is a statue of him outside the Northampton Guild Hall.
What is Remembrance Sunday for, why do people wear poppies?
What can we learn from Walter's story?
Why is this about No Outsiders?
Which British Value is this about?
Do you want this assembly as a power point with Oracy sentence stems? To
join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every
week, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org
No
Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat (scheme of
work for primary schools)
Andrew
Moffat delivers in-school No Outsiders training- watch a short video here
Register
to be a No Outsiders school (get access to members page with
additional resources)
Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging
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